SENECTUTIS: at the time the words were written Cic. was 62 years old,
Atticus three years older. For the meaning of _senectus_ see n. on 4. --
LEVARI VOLO: the best Latin writers frequently use the passive infinitive
after verbs expressing desire, where moderns would incline to the active;
here Cic. instead of saying 'I wish to relieve yourself and me of the
burden' says 'I wish yourself and me to be relieved'. -- ETSI: = καιτοι
'and yet'. This use of _etsi_ to introduce a clause correcting the
preceding clause, though not uncommon (_e.g._ below 29; Tusc. 1, 99; 3, 17;
4, 63; 5, 55), is far less common than that of _quamquam_, which we have in
1, 9, 10, 24, 47, 67, 69. -- TE QUIDEM: 'you at all events', 'you for one'.
-- MODICE AC SAPIENTER: _modice_ recalls _moderationem_ above (_modice_ and
_moderate_ are used with exactly the same sense by Cic.), while _sapienter_
recalls _aequitatem_, since _sapientia_ produces stability and an even
balance of the mind. In De Or. 1, 132 we have _modice et scienter_. --
SICUT OMNIA: cf. Fin. 1, 7 _facete is quidem sicut alia_; also below, 65
_sicut alia_. -- ET FERRE ET LATURUM ESSE: Tischer rightly remarks that
when a verb is repeated thus with a variation of tense Cic. very nearly
always uses _et ... et_, and not a single _et_ merely. The contrast between
the two tenses is thus made more pointed. Cf. 3 _et diximus et dicemus_. --
CERTO SCIO: one of the best MSS., followed by some editors, has here _certe
scio_. The latter phrase would mean 'I am sure that I know' (a sense which
seems out of place here); the former 'I have certain or sure knowledge'.
Observe that _certe_ may be used with all verbs, while _certo_ is only used
with _scire_. A. 151, c. -- SED: the idea implied is, 'but though I well
know you do not need such consolation, I have yet resolved to address my
book to you'. -- OCCURREBAS DIGNUS: a condensed construction for
_occurrebat te digmim esse_.
P. 2. -- MUNERE ... UTERETUR: 'a gift such as we both might make use of in
company'. -- MIHI QUIDEM: this forms a correction upon _uterque nostrum_
above: 'whatever you may think of the work, _I at least_ have found the
writing of it pleasant'. -- CONFECTIO: 'composition'; 'completion'; a word
scarcely found in the classical Latin except in Cicero's writings. Cf. De
Or. 2, 52 _annalium confectio;_ pro. Font. 3 _confectio tabularum_
('account-books'). -- FUIT UT ABSTERSERIT: the sequence of tenses _fuit ut
abstergeret_ would have been equally admissible, but the meaning would have
been slightly different. With the perfect the sense is 'was so pleasant
that it _has_ wiped away'; with the imperfect 'was so pleasant that it
_did_ (while I was writing) wipe away'. The metaphor in _absterserit_ is
common: _e.g._ Tusc. 3, 43 _luctum omnem absterseris_. With this statement
of Cicero's concerning the effect the work had on himself contrast Att. 14,
21, 3 _legendus mihi saepius est Cato maior ad te missus. Amariorem enim me
senectus facit. Stomachor omnia_. -- OMNIS: acc. pl. A. 55, _c_; G. 60, 1;
H. 67. -- EFFECERIT MOLLEM: so 56 _poteratne tantus animus efficere non
iucundam senectutem_; but 56 _conditiora facit haec aucupium_. _Efficio_
gives more emphatically than _facio_ the idea of the completion of the
action. Cf. Lael. 73 _efficere aliquem consulem_, 'to carry through a man's
election as consul'; _facere aliquem consulem_ being merely 'to vote for a
man's election to the consulship'. -- SATIS DIGNE: 'as she deserves', lit.
'in a sufficiently worthy manner.' Some editors have thought _digne_
superfluous and wished to cast it out but we have _satis digne_ elsewhere,
as in Verr. Act. II. 1, 82; cf. also Sex. Rosc. 33 _pro dignitate laudare
satis commode_. -- QUI PAREAT ... DEGERE: a conditional sentence of
irregular form (_qui_ = _siquis_; _cui_ simply connective, = _et ei_). Cf.
Div. 1, 127 _qui enim teneat causas rerum futurarum, idem necesse est omnia
teneat quae futura sint_; also the examples in Roby's Grammar, 1558. A.
310, _a_, 307, _b_; G. 594, 1, 598; H. 507, II. and III. 2. Some, however,
make _possit_ a subjunctive of characteristic or of cause with _cui_, and
_pareat_ a subjunctive by attraction. -- OMNE TEMPUS AETATIS: 'every season
of life'; so in 55 _extremum tempus aetatis_; 70 _breve tempus aetatis._
The opposite phrase _aetas temporis_ is very rare; it occurs in Propertius
1, 4, 7.
3. CETERIS: neuter adjective used as a noun, equivalent to _ceteris rebus_
'the other matters'; _i.e._ the political troubles hinted at above. The
best writers do not often use the neuter adjective as noun in the _oblique_
cases unless there is something in the context to show the gender clearly,
as in 24 _aliis ... eis quae_; we have, however, below in 8, _isto_ = _ista
re_; 72, _reliquum_; 77, _caelestium_ = _rerum caelestium_; and in 78,
_praeteritorum futurorumque_; see other instances in n. on Lael. 50
_similium_. The proleptic or anticipatory use of _ceteris_ should also be
noticed; its sense is not fully seen till we come to _hunc librum_; the
same use occurs below in 4, 5, 59, 60; so _aliis_ in 24; cf. also n. on
Lael. 7 _reliqua_. -- DIXIMUS ... DICEMUS: when a clause or phrase consists
of four parts, which go in pairs (as here _diximus_, _dicemus_ on one side,
and _multa_, _saepe_ on the other), the Latins frequently arrange the words
so as to put one pair between the two members of the other pair, as here.
This usage is called by grammarians _chiasmus_. Thus if we denote the four
parts by _AA' BB', chiasmus_ requires the order _ABB'A'_ or _BAA'B'_. See
examples in 8, 20, 22, 38, 44, 71. For the more complicated forms of
chiasmus consult Nägelsbach, Stil. §§ 167, 169. A. 344, _f_; G. 684; H.
562. -- LIBRUM ... MISIMUS: observe the omission of a particle at the
beginning of the clause; the contrast between _ceteris_ and _hunc librum_
is made stronger by the omission. For this _asyndeton adversativum_ see n.
on Lael. 5 _Laelium ... putes_. For tense of _misimus_, 'I send' see A.
282; G. 244, H. 472, 1. -- OMNEM: see n. on 62. -- TRIBUIMUS: perfect tense
like _misimus_. -- TITHONO ... ARISTO: see Introd. -- CIUS: Greek Κειος (a
native of Ceos), not to be confused with Χιος (a native of Chios), or Κωος
(a native of Cos). Cicero generally denotes the Greek diphthong ει by _i_
not e. This Aristo was a Peripatetic. -- PARUM ... AUCTORITATIS: observe
how often Cicero takes trouble to separate words which are, grammatically,
closely connected. So above, _omnis ... molestias_; 7 _multorum ...
senectutem_; 9 _mirificos ... fructus_; 21 _civium ... nomina_; 33 _minus
... virium_; 53 _multo ... fecundior_; etc. etc. See also n. on 15 _quam
sit iusta_. A. 344, _c_, _d_, _e_; H. 561, III. -- ESSET: condition
omitted. A. 311; G. 602; H. 510. -- MAIOREM AUCTORITATEM: cf. Lael. 4. --
APUD QUEM: 'at whose house'; so 55 _a me_, 'from my house'. A. 153; G. 417;
H. 446, n. 4. -- LAELIUM ... SCIPIONEM: see Introd. -- FACIMUS ADMIRANTIS:
'we represent as expressing astonishment'. For _facere_, in this sense,
Cic. more often uses _inducere_ 'to bring on the stage', as in Lael. 4
_Catonem induxi senem disputantem_. Cf. however 54 _Homerus Laerten
colentem agrum facit_; also Brut. 218; Orat. 85. Instead of _facimus_ we
might have expected either _fecimus_ to correspond with _misimus_ and
_tribuimus_ above, or _faciemus_ to correspond with _videbitur_ below. On
the use of the participle see A. 292, _q_; G. 536; H 535, I. 4. --
ERUDITIUS DISPUTARE: Cic. not infrequently in his dialogues makes people
talk with more learning than they really possessed. He several times
confesses this as regards Lucullus and Catulus in the Academica, and as
regards Antonius in the De Oratore. -- FERAT: subjunctive because embodying
the sentiment of Laelius and Scipio. Roby, 1744; Madvig, 357; H. 516, II.
-- SUIS LIBRIS etc.: for the allusions here to Cato's life, works, and
opinions see Introd. -- QUID OPUS EST PLURA? _sc. dicere_. cf. the elliptic
phrases _quid multa? sc. dicam_ in 78; also below, 10 _praeclare_. A 206,
_c_; H. 368, 3, n. 2.
4. SAEPE NUMERO SOLEO: 'it is my frequent custom'. _Numero_ is literally
'by the count or reckoning', and in _saepe numero_ had originally the same
force as in _quadraginta numero_ and the like; but the phrase came to be
used merely as a slight strengthening of _saepe_. -- CUM HOC ... CUM
CETERARUM: the use of _cum_ in different senses in the same clause, which
seems awkward, is not uncommon; cf. below, 67. The spelling _quum_ was
certainly not used by Cicero, and probably by no other Latin writer of the
best period. H. 311, foot-note 4. It is worth remarking that _cum_ the
conjunction and _cum_ the preposition, though spelt alike, are by origin
quite distinct. The former is derived from the pronominal stem _ka_ or
_kva_, and is cognate with _qui_; the latter comes from the root _sak_ 'to
follow', and is cognate with Gk. συν, Lat _sequor_, etc. See Vanicek,
Etymologisches Worterbuch, pp. 96, 984. -- RERUM ... SAPIENTIAM: 'wisdom
_in_ affairs'; the objective genitive -- EXCELLENTEM: in sense much
stronger than our 'excellent'; _excellentem perfectamque_ 'pre-eminent and
indeed faultless'. -- QUOD ... SENSERIM: this clause takes the place of an
object to _admirari_. The subjunctive is used because the speaker reports
his own reason for the wonder, formerly felt, as if according to the views
of another person, and without affirming his holding the same view at the
time of speaking. Madvig, 357, _a_, Obs. 1. A 341, _d_, Rem. -- ODIOSA:
this word is not so strong as our 'hateful', but rather means 'wearisome',
'annoying'. In Plautus the frequent expression _odiosus es_ means, in
colloquial English, 'you bore me'. Cf. 47 _odiosum et molestum_; 65 _odiosa
offensio_. -- ONUS AETNA GRAVIUS: a proverbial expression with an allusion
to Enceladus, who, after the defeat of the Giants by Juppiter, was said to
have been imprisoned under Mt. Aetna. Cf. Eurip. Hercules Furens, 637; also
Longfellow's poem, Enceladus. -- HAUD SANE DIFFICILEM: 'surely far from
difficult'; cf. 83 _haud sane facile_. -- QUIBUS: a _dativus commodi_,
'those for whom there is no aid in themselves'. Cf. Lael. 79 _quibus in
ipsis_. -- BENE BEATEQUE VIVENDUM: 'a virtuous and happy life'; 'virtue and
happiness'; so _bene honesteque_ below, 70. -- QUI ... PETUNT: these are
the αυταρκεις, men sufficient for themselves, '_in se toti teretes atque
rotundi_'. We have here a reminiscence of the Stoic doctrine about the wise
man, whose happiness is quite independent of everything outside himself,
and is caused solely by his own virtue. Cicero represents the same Stoic
theory in Lael. 7. Cf. Juv. Sat. 10, 357-362; also Seneca, De Cons. Sap.
VIII, De Prov. I. 5. -- A SE IPSI: 'themselves from themselves,' so in 78
_se ipse moveat ... se ipse relucturus sit_; 84 _me ipse consolabar_.
Expressions like _a se ipsis_ are quite uncommon in Cicero. Cf. n. on Lael.
5 _te ipse cognosces_; also see below, 38 _se ipsa_ 78 _se ipse_. --
NATURAE NECESSITAS: 'the inevitable conditions of nature.' Cf. 71 _quid est
tam secundum naturam quam senibus emori?_ -- AFFERAT: subjunctive because
_nihil quod_ = _nihil tale ut_. A 320, _a_; G. 633, 634; H. 503, I. -- QUO
IN GENERE: _sc. rerum_; with this phrase the defining genitive is commonly
omitted by Cicero. So below, 45 _in eo genere_. -- UT ... ADEPTAM: notice
the chiasmus. -- EANDEM: _idem_ is used in the same way, to mark an
emphatic contrast in 24, 52, 68, 71. -- ADEPTAM: this is probably the only
example in Cicero of the passive use of _adeptus_, which occurs in Sallust,
Ovid, Tacitus, etc.; and in this passage the use cannot be looked on as
certain, since one of the very best and several of the inferior MSS. read
_adepti_. Cicero, however, uses a good many deponent participles in a
passive sense (cf. below, 59 _dimensa_; 74 _meditatum_; see also a list,
Roby, 734), and some of them occur very rarely. Thus _periclitatus,
arbitratus, depastus_ as passives are found each in only one passage. --
INCONSTANTIA: 'instability', 'inconsistency'. _Constantia_, unwavering
firmness and consistency, is the characteristic of the wise man; cf. Acad.
2, 23 _sapientia ... quae ex sese habeat constantiam_; also Lael. 8 and 64.
P. 3. -- AIUNT: _sc. stulti_. -- PUTASSENT: the subjunctive is due to the
indirect discourse. Where we say 'I should not have thought,' the Latins
say, in direct narration, '_non putaram_,' _i.e._ 'I never had thought' (so
Off. 1, 81 and often in Cicero's letters). Translate, 'more quickly than
they had ever expected'. Cf. Att. 6, 1, 6 _accipiam equidem dolorem mihi
ilium irasci sed multo maiorem non esse eum talem qualem putassem_. See
Zumpt, Gram., 518. -- FALSUM PUTARE: 'to form a mistaken judgment'. For
_falsum_ as noun equivalent to ψευδος, cf. 6 _gratissimum_; also n. on 3
_ceteris_. -- QUI CITIUS: lit. 'in what way quicker'; cf. Tusc. 5, 89 _qui
melius_. H. 188, II. 2. -- ADULESCENTIA ... SENECTUS ... PUERITIA: babyhood
was generally at Rome supposed to last till the 17th year (the time for
assuming the _toga virilis_ and for beginning military service). _Iuventus_
is usually the age from 17 to 45, during which men were liable to be called
on for active service. Ordinarily, in colloquial language, _adulescentia_
is the earlier portion of _iuventus_, say the years from 17 to 30 (cf. 33),
but Cicero seems here to make _adulescentia_ co-extensive with _iuventus_.
From 45 to 60 is the _aetas seniorum_, the period during which citizens in
early Rome might be called out for the defence of the city, but not for
active service. _Senectus_ was commonly reckoned as beginning at 60; but in
§ 60 Cicero includes in _senectus_ the _aetas seniorum_, and probably
intended to include it here. In Tusc. 1, 34 Cic. reckons three ages
_pueritia adulescentia senectus_ as here; below in 74, four periods, or
five. -- QUAMVIS: = _quantumvis_. -- EFFLUXISSET: subjunctive because the
mood of _posset_, to which it stands in subordinate relation _Cum_ here is
purely temporal. See Roby, 1778; A. 342; G. 666; H. 529, II. -- POSSET: see
n. on _esset_ above, 3.
5. SI ... SOLETIS ... SUMUS: the apodosis and protasis do not exactly
correspond; the sense really required is 'if that wisdom for which you
admire me does exist, it lies in this', etc. -- UTINAM ... ESSET: _esset_
here gives a greater appearance of modesty than would been expressed by
_sit_: 'would it were, as it certainly is not'. A. 267; G. 253; H. 483, 2.
-- COGNOMINE: Cato bore the title _sapiens_, even in his lifetime; see
Introd. _Cognomen_ is used in good Latin to denote both the family name and
the acquired by-name; in late Latin this latter is denoted by _agnomen_. --
IN HOC SAPIENTES: but above, 4 _rerum sapientiam_, not _in rebus_. The
genitive construction is not found with _sapiens_ used as noun or adjective
till late Latin times. -- NATURAM DUCEM etc.: Cato's claim to the title of
_sapiens_ does not rest on any deep knowledge of philosophy, but on
practical wisdom or common sense and experience in affairs. Cf. Lael. 6 and
19. In this passage Cicero has put into Cato's mouth phrases borrowed from
the Stoic philosophy, which declared the life of virtue to be life in
accordance with nature (_naturae convenienter vivere_ or ‛ομολογουμενως τη
φυσει ζην). Cf. 71, n. on _secundum naturam_. -- TAMQUAM DEUM: observe
_deum_ not _deam_, because nature is compared with, and not identified
with, a divine being. Cf. Fin. 5, 43 _eam (rationem) quasi deum ducem
subsequens_. -- AETATIS: here = _vitae_, life as a whole. Cf. 2 _omne
tempus aetatis_ and n.; also 13 _aetatis ... senectus_; 33, 64, 82. --
DESCRIPTAE: 'composed'; literally 'written out'. The reading _discriptae_,
which many editions give, does not so well suit the passage. _Discribere_
is to map out, plan, arrange, put in order (see 59 _discripta_ and
_discriptio_); the point here lies, however, not in the due arrangement of
the different scenes of a play, but in the careful working out of each
scene. _Ab ea_ must be supplied after _descriptae_ from _a qua_ above. --
ACTUM: the common comparison of life with a drama is also found in 64, 70,
85. -- INERTI: the sense of 'ignorant' 'inartistic' (_in, ars_), has been
given to this by some editors (cf. Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 126 _praetulerim scriptor
delirus inersque videri_, and Cic. Fin. 2, 115 _artes, quibus qui carebant,
inertes a maioribus nominabantur_), but the meaning 'inactive', 'lazy',
'slovenly' seems to suit _neglectum_ better. -- POETA: nature is here the
dramatist, the drama is life, the actors are human beings. -- SED TAMEN
etc.: 'but for all that it was inevitable that there should be something
with the nature of an end'. So 69 _in quo est aliquid extremum_, 43
_aliquid pulchrum_. -- ARBORUM BACIS: the word _baca_ (the spelling _bacca_
has little or no authority) is applied to all fruits growing on bushes or
trees, cf. Tusc. 1, 31 _arbores seret diligens agricola, quarum aspiciet
bacam ipse numquam_ -- TERRAEQUE FRUCTIBUS: here = cereals, roots,
vegetables and small fruits. No sharp distinction can be drawn between
_fruges_ and _fructus_ (_e.g._ in Div. 1, 116 we have _fruges terrae
bacasve arborum_) though _fructus_ as commonly used is the more general
word of the two. -- MATURITATE CADUCUM: 'a time of senility, so to speak
and readiness to drop, that comes of a seasonable ripeness'. _Vietus_ is
literally 'twisted' or bent', being originally the passive participle of
_viere_. The comparison of old age with the ripeness of fruit recurs in 71.
Cf. Plin. Ep. 5, 14, 5 _non tam aetatis maturitate quam vitae_. --
FERUNDUM: the form in _undus_ is archaic, and generally used by Cic. in
quoting or imitating passages of laws, sacred formulae, and the like. H.
239. -- MOLLITER: here 'gently', 'with resignation', though _molliter
ferre_ often has another meaning, viz. to bear pain or trouble in an
_unmanly_ fashion. Cf. _facillime ferre_ below. -- QUID EST ALIUD etc. The
words perhaps imply the rationalistic explanation of myths which the Greeks
had begun to teach to the Romans during Cato's lifetime. Trans 'what else
but resistance to nature is equivalent to warring against the gods, and
_not_ 'what else does warring with the gods mean but to resist nature.' In
comparisons of this sort the Latins generally put the things compared in a
different order from that required by English idiom. Thus in Div. 2, 78
_quid est aliud nolle moneri a Iove nisi efficere ut aut ne fieri possit
auspicium aut, si fiat, videri_, S. Rosc. 54 _quid est aliud iudicio ac
legibus ac maiestate vestra abuti ad quaestum ac libidinem nisi hoc modo
accusare_. Phil. 1, 22, 2, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5. -- GIGANTUM MODO: see n. on 4
_Aetna gravius_ -- DIS: for the form _dis_ see n. on 25.
6. ATQUI: in the best Latin _atqui_ does not introduce a statement
_contradicting_ the preceding statement, but one that _supplements_ it.
Here it may be translated 'True, but'. Cf. 66, 81. -- GRATISSIMUM:
equivalent to _rem gratissimam_. With the thought cf. Rep. 1, 34 _gratum
feceris si explicaris_. Lael. 16 _pergratum feceris si disputaris_ -- UT
POLLICEAR: so Acad. 1, 33 _nos vero volumus ut pro Attico respondeam_.
Brut. 122 _nobis vero placet, ut pro Bruto etiam respondeam_; Lael. 32 _tu
vero perge, pro hoc enim respondeo_ A 317, _c_, H 499, 2, n. -- SENES
FIERI: if the infinitive had depended on _speramus_ alone and _volumus_ had
not intervened, Cicero would probably have written _nos futuros esse
senes_. -- MULTO ANTE: _sc. quam id factum erit_ so Balb. 41 _re denique
multo ante (sc. quam factum est) audita_, and very often in Cicero. --
DIDICERIMUS: as this corresponds with _feceris,_it would have been formally
correct to write here _nos docueris_ -- QUIBUS POSSIMUS: 'what
considerations will enable us most easily to support the growing burden of
age'. -- FUTURUM EST: = μελλει ειναι this form of the future is used in
preference to the simple _erit_ because it is desired to represent the
event as _on the very point of fulfilment_, and therefore sure of
fulfilment. _Erit_ would have implied much less certainty. Trans. 'I will
do so if my action _is going to give_ you pleasure' Cf. 67 _beatus futurus
sum_, also 81, 85. See Roby, 1494. -- NISI MOLESTUM EST:3 a common
expression of courtesy, like 15 _nisi alienum putas, si placet_, cf. Hor.
Sat. 2, 8, 4 _si grave non est_. -- TAMQUAM LONGAM VIAM: Cicero here puts
into Laelius' mouth almost the very words addressed by Socrates to the aged
Cephalus in the introduction to Plato's Republic, 328 E. Observe the
succession of similar sounds in t_am_qu_am_, aliqu_am_, long_am_, vi_am_.
-- VIAM CONFECERIS: so pro Quint. 79 _conficere DCC milia passuum,
conficere iter_ a common phrase. For mood see A 312, G 604, H 513, II. --
QUAM ... INGREDIUNDUM SIT: this construction, the neuter of the gerundive
with _est_ followed by an accusative case, is exceedingly rare excepting in
two writers, Lucretius and Varro. See the full list of examples given by
Roby, Gram., Pref. to vol. 2, p. LXXII. A 294, _c_, H 371, I. 2, 2, n. The
best texts of Cicero now give only one example of a construction at all
resembling this, viz. pro Scauro 13 _obliviscendum vobis putatis matrum in
liberos, virorum in uxores scelera?_ The supposition of some scholars, that
in this passage Cic. used the construction in imitation of the archaic
style of Cato, is not likely to be true, seeing that in Cato's extant works
the construction does not once occur. For the form _undum_ see n. on 5
_ferundum_. -- ISTUC not adverb, but neuter pronoun, as in 8. The kind of
construction, _istuc videre quale sit_ for _videre quale istuc sit_, is
especially common in Cicero.
7. FACIAM UT POTERO: 'I will do it as well as I can.' Observe the future
_potero_ where English idiom would require a present. So Rep. 1, 38 _hic
Scipio, faciam quod voltis, ut potero_. -- SAEPE ENIM: _enim_ introduces a
reason, not for the words _ut potero_, but for _faciam_ -- 'I will grant
your request because I have often heard complaints about old age and
therefore have thought of the matter'. -- PARES AUTEM etc.: parenthetical.
-- VETERE PROVERBIO: the saying is as old as Homer, Od. 17, 218 as ‛ως αιει
τον ‛ομοιον αγει θεος ‛ως τον ‛ομοιον; cf. also Plat., Rep. 329 A, Symp.
195 B, Phaedr. 240 C.
P. 4. -- FACILLIME: 'most cheerfully', 'most eagerly'; a common meaning of
the word in Cic., _e.g._ Fam. 2, 16, 2 _in maritimis facillime sum_, _i.e._
'I find most pleasure in staying by the sea'. -- QUAE: a kind of
explanation of _querellis_: -- 'lamentations, viz. such utterances as'
etc.; see n. on Lael. 14 _quae_; cf. Fam. 2, 8, 2 _sermonibus de re publica
... quae nec possunt scribi nec scribenda sunt_. A. 199, _b_; G. 616, 3,
I.; H. 445, 5. -- C. SALINATOR: probably C. Livius Salinator, praetor in
191 B.C. (Livy 35, 24), who was entrusted with the equipment of the Roman
fleets during the war against Antiochus. He was born about 230, and was
therefore a little younger than Cato; cf. _fere aequales_ below. Salinator
was consul in 188, and died in 170. For the name Salinator cf. n. on 11. --
SP. ALBINUS: Sp. Postumius Albinus was consul in 186, and was with his
colleague appointed to investigate the great Bacchanalian conspiracy of
that year (Livy 39, CC. 1 seq.). Albinus died in 180. He was probably a
little younger than Salinator. He can scarcely have been fifty years of age
at his death. -- TUM ... TUM: 'now ... again'; so in 45. -- CARERENT: see
n. on 3 _ferat_. -- VITAM NULLAM PUTARENT: 'they considered life to be not
life at all'. For _vitam nullam_ cf. Lael. 86 _sine amicitia vitam esse
nullam_; also the Greek phrase βιος αβιωτος; and below, 77 _vitam quae est
sola vita nominanda_; also 82. A. 239; H. 373, 1, n. 2. _Putarent_ =
'thought, as they said'. -- ID QUOD ESSET ACCUSANDUM: the subjunctive
_esset_ is used because a _class_ of things is referred to, 'nothing of a
nature to deserve complaint'; _id quod erat_, etc. would have meant merely
'that one thing which was matter for complaint'. A. 320; G. 634, Rem. 1; H.
503, I. -- USU VENIRENT: the phrase _usu venire_ differs very little in
meaning from _accidere_. _Usu_ is commonly explained as an ablative ('in
practice', 'in experience'), but is quite as likely to be a dative of the
sort generally called predicative ('to come as matter of experience'); cf.
Verg. Aen. 1, 22 _venire excidio_; Plin. N.H. 28, 106 _odio_; Caes. B.G. 5,
27 _subsidio_. -- QUORUM ... MULTORUM: the first genitive is dependent on
the second, so that _quorum = e quibus_. Notice the separation of _quorum_
from _multorum_ and of _multorum_ from _senectutem_. -- SINE QUERELLA:
attribute of _senectutem_. A. 217, Rem.; H. 359, n. 1, 4), and n. 3. This
form of attributive phrase, consisting of a preposition with a noun, is
common; cf. 24 _ex agro Sabino rusticos Romanos_; 40 _cum hostibus
clandestina colloquia_. _Querella_ is better spelling than _querela_. See
Roby, 177, 2. -- QUI: 'men of such nature as to ...'. -- ET ... NEC: Roby
2241. The reason for the departure from the ordinary sequence of particles
lies in the words _non moleste_. _Nec ...et _ is common; see 51, 53. --
LIBIDINUM VINCULIS etc.: Cic. is here thinking of the conversation between
Socrates and Cephalus in Plato, Rep. 329 D, for which see Introd. --
MODERATI: 'self-controlled'; cf. n. on 1 _moderationem_; _difficiles_,
'peevish'; _inhumani_, 'unkindly'; _importunitas_, 'perversity'.
_Importunitas_ seems to be used as the substantive corresponding in sense
with the adjective _difficilis_. _Difficultas_, in the sense of
'peevishness', probably occurs only in Mur. 19.